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Console makers want to get gamers on their feet, but this won't be a standing ovation.

Move -- the company's motion-based PlayStation controller -- hits the market on Friday. The "move" buys Sony a head start on rival Microsoft(Nasdaq: MSFT). The Xbox's pricier Kinect is still two months away.

I haven't had the honor of kicking the tires of the new controller, but I've seen enough of the promotional videos to leave me unimpressed. Boxing? Golfing? Archery? Aren't these the same games that folks have been playing on Nintendo's (Nasdaq: NTDOY.PK) Wii? Sure, they look a lot better than they did on the Wii three years ago. Sony's PS3 is a workhorse. However, I'm not going to get excited about that. Kinect's controller is more compelling, but its high sticker price will make it a hard sell as well.

I don't mind going out on a limb here: Sony's PlayStation Move will be a bust. Gamers don't want to get up and move around anymore.

Sure, the Wii's controller got families off the couch. A range of workout titles -- spearheaded by its own Wii Fit -- made the console appealing to women and older gamers.

Unfortunately, the die-hard gamers playing on Xbox 360 and PS3 systems aren't cut from the same demographic cloth. Teens and young adults don't want to get up from their rockers or beanbags unless the Mountain Dew runs dry. Donning headsets for multiplayer action, their only real exercise feat is reaching over to the Cheetos bag between levels.

Sure, they got up for a moment. Activision Blizzard's (Nasdaq: ATVI)Guitar Hero and Viacom's (NYSE: VIA)Rock Band got folks jamming air guitar to rhythmic games, but that peaked two years ago. Gamers are sitting down again, gunning down folks in Call of Duty or playing Electronic Arts' (Nasdaq: ERTS)Madden NFL 11 like the armchair quarterbacks that they are. If you don't believe me on that last point, ask yourself why the two best-selling video games last month were Madden for the Xbox 360 and the PS3. The Wii version -- which incorporates the Wii's motion-based controller -- didn't even crack the top 10.

In a nutshell, gamers don't want to move. They barely wanted to groove. Sony and Microsoft have a lot to prove -- and they will fail at it with this year's so-called evolutionary controller enhancements.

Disagree with Rick? Do you feel that PlayStation Move and Microsoft Kinect will be movers and shakers? Share your rescue plan in the comment box below.

Microsoft is aMotley Fool Inside Valueselection. Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts, and Nintendo areMotley Fool Stock Advisorrecommendations.Motley Fool Optionshas recommended a synthetic long position on Activision Blizzard.Motley Fool Optionshas recommended a diagonal call position on Microsoft. The Fool owns shares of Activision Blizzard and Microsoft. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. True to its name, The Motley Fool is made up of a motley assortment of writers and analysts, each with a unique perspective; sometimes we agree, sometimes we disagree, but we all believe in the power of learning from each other through our Foolish community.

Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz will admit to still playing video games, though finding time is the rub. He does not own shares in any of the companies in this story. He is also part of theRule Breakersnewsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early.The Fool has a disclosure policy.

Author

Rick has been writing for Motley Fool since 1995 where he's a Consumer and Tech Stocks Specialist. Yes, that's a long time with more than 20,000 bylines over those 22 years. He's been an analyst for Motley Fool Rule Breakers and a portfolio lead analyst for Motley Fool Supernova since each newsletter service's inception. He earned his BBA and MBA from the University of Miami, and he splits his time living in Miami, Florida and Celebration, Florida.
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